Breakfast by the Lighthouse

This morning the girls and I had an early morning picnic breakfast out by Scituate lighthouse...a beautiful spot to watch the boats come in and out of the harbor, swim in the calm water, and witness some amusing sailing lessons...

A long walk with Papa out on the jetties

Wobstas

For anyone who has not visited the Bird household, you need to understand that our Papa is pretty much an Italian mama... nothing gives him more pleasure than cooking enormous amounts of delicious food and pressing people to have seconds (or thirds.) He took us out to a sumptuous Asian meal and after Lili had demolished her fourth portion of spicy tuna maki asked quietly, "Why does Papa want us to eat so much?" But seriously, he always makes us feel so welcome and we have had so many memorable meals this summer. For one such meal, the main attraction was these gargantuan lobsters: yes, we played with our food before we ate it.

Kateri was really tickled by them...

Tuckered out

The kids get pretty tuckered out on these long summer days at the beach...here is Audrey passed out on the porch in Nanny's lap while Kateri pets her head...

Two nights ago Audrey asked me if I could carry her to her bed because she was too tired to walk. I said, "no I can't carry you. You're getting too big to be carried." She very seriously responded in her sleepy voice, "Can you just drag me to my bed, Mom? Drag me on the floor to my bed?"

I just had to throw this picture in of Daddy and his mini-me daughter. I seriously think that she is looking more and more like him as she grows, a process no doubt aided by her hair's stubborn refusal to grow.

Want to see what Lili in heaven looks like?

This:

Everyone is in love with the newest member of the Bird family, and sweet Fiona has nice laid back parents who let Lili stick her (well-scrubbed) finger in Fiona's mouth and hold her...

So cute!!!

Gone Fishin'

More fishing at the reservoir...this time Uncle Stevie and Aunt Cindy are in on the fun...

Uncle Jon too...

And Daddy...

I know Lili has a slightly manic look on her face in this picture...apparently the fish had just started wiggling like crazy on the line...notice how Audrey is unfazed...

Snorkeling with Papa

Lili got her very own set of fins and a snorkel mask from Papa for her birthday, and they had a fun day running "missions" out around the rocks by Well Rock. She was getting so excited at any wildlife(mostly rock crabs), we could hear her screeching through her snorkle from the beach. She and Papa look pretty cute in their wetsuits...

Whoooooooooooizzit?

This is Kateri's favorite thing to do at Nanny and Papa's house. She sits on Nanny's bed and faces a big shelf full of family photos and points at them and tries to say "Who is it?" It started out "ooooooooooooooooooooizit?" but now she just says "izit" and points. I wish I had it on video, but I can't seem to download the videos right now. The second pic is her trying so hard to say "who"

Happy Birthday Lili!

Our little Lili turned seven this week. For several months we have been planning to visit Plimouth Plantation for her birthday. It was great, and despite some drizzly weather, we had blast and learned a lot.

This is the replica of the Wampanoag site...the structure in the middle of the field was a treehouse for the kids to play in and help scare animals away from the corn...pretty cool...

Thanks to an emphasis on "cultural sensitivity" in the museum's literature, my little rule-follower Lili was terrified of offending the Native Americans who were at the Wampanoag site. It was kind of confusing, because the people dressed up as the English colonist are role playing, but the "Wampanoags" are of Native descent, and although they are in 17th century garb, they are NOT role playing. So this whole thing kind of stressed Lili out and she was overheard repeatedly telling Audrey, "Just don't say ANYTHING to the Indians, Audrey!!!" I guess Lili was worried Audrey would display her knack for brutal honesty and say something offensive. She needn't have worried. This was actually the most enjoyable part for me. All the people working there were really talkative and interesting.

The Pilgrims however are a little more difficult to talk to because they are pretending to be actual people who lived in the 17th century and seem think it is no big deal that they lost a couple of kids during the last winter etc.

It was pretty amazing to think of these people surviving the winters in these tiny one room homes...at one point my mom asked Audrey if she would like to have been a Pilgrim girl and she looked around and said seriously, " I would NOT like to have a floor made of dirt." and then, glumly, "Why did we come here?" Later on we were using the restrooms in the gift shop and I said to Audrey, "I didn't see any bathrooms in those tiny houses, I wonder how the Pilgrims wen to the potty?" Audrey looked concerned for a minute and then her face brightened, "They probably just came in here!"

Some cute little goats staying out of the drizzle.

Kateri loved the people watching.

I thought it was really cool how you could see the ocean from the site.

We also got to go onboard a replica of the Mayflower, which is anchored in Plymouth Harbor, and then it was off home for enchiladas and Princess Birthday Cake...all in all not a bad birthday for our sweet firstborn!

Picking Blueberries

One of our beloved annual Scituate traditions is picking blueberries at Treeberry farm....

Audrey took it very seriously this year and refused to quit even when the cord from her coffee can was digging into her neck with the weight of her harvest.

Kateri just enjoyed tasting them...

A trip into Boston to see the Tall Ships

We had a nice little adventure today with Nanny and went into the city to see the Tall Ships, which are in Boston Harbor for the week. It was a great day...

We took the ferry from Hingham...a ferry ride with a friend, what could be more fun?

"Kateri are you sucking on that grimy old chain?"

"....maybe..."

This was the prettiest one...I think it was Dutch...called the Europa.

We even stopped by the Aquarium to see the Harbor seals...here's one doing a quick swim-by much to Kateri's delight!

Still smiling at the end of the trip!

The Beach!

Lili's had some good rides on the boogie board so far...

Off to the beach! Lili has become quite the speed demon on her little razor scooter, and Audrey keeps Kateri company in the wagon while Papa does all the work.

Uncle Joe and Aunt Becca...

We've had some great beach days so far in beautiful Scituate. Pretty close to perfect actually, although we are missing one very crucial element. Luckily we'll be picking him up from the airport one week from today. We can't wait to see the Daddy!!